Investing in our Children / Invirtiendo en Nuestros Niños

Some days, I miss having babies. Not enough to actually have more babies, but I have many fond memories (and thousands of pictures) of my children’s early years. I spent hours gazing at my first-born son, captivated by his every expression and movement. But I also felt overwhelmed, uncertain and tired as an inexperienced parent. Very tired.

Happy summer? Yes, that’s a question. Like many working parents, I’ve been awaiting summer vacation since school started last fall. I breathed a sigh of relief on the last day of school, then the reality of summer scheduling sank in. With two full-time working parents in our family, we have to make sure our kids are in safe, supervised places during the day.

I love my kids. I repeat, I love my kids. And yet, raising them to be kind, confident, capable individuals who will be ready for adulthood (or at least get to school on time) is exhausting. I can’t imagine trying to raise them on my own, but I know there are many single-parent families who are raising children successfully.

We're Launching: The first Spring/Summer Positive Parenting Passport English /Spanish

Solicitation for Applications

FIRST 5 of Santa Cruz County is in the process of selecting an independent certified public accounting firm to perform its annual audit. According to FIRST 5 Santa Cruz County’s audit policy, FIRST 5 will conduct a competitive selection process to identify an independent certified public accounting firm every five years or sooner if determined necessary.
Any interested firm must submit a written proposal in accordance with this RFQ.

I can’t believe how quickly another year has flown by. In my family, the passing of time is marked by major life events: birthdays, vacations, kids’ sports activities, the end of school, the beginning of school and holidays. Everything in between seems like a blur. Sometimes it’s hard to slow down and appreciate all the things that really matter in life, like the health and happiness of my family, friends — and me! So when this month’s question came in, it got me thinking about how we teach children about gratitude.

First 5 Santa Cruz County has extended the RFQ for the Literacy Coach position to July 18th in order to allow for more time for the child care field to be notified of the RFQ for this pivotal Santa Cruz Reading Corps position.